Viewpoint: Spending Frenzy

I have to admit that the trillions, with a T, of dollars our government is spending sends chills down my spine.

Admittedly I’m no economist, but I would like to think there is such a thing as common sense when it comes to spending.I do run a business and a household, and I know if one goes into deep debt spending more than you bring in—bad things are sure to follow.

Where, besides taxpayers like you and I, will all the money come from to pay for this spending spree we seem to be embarking on?

To begin with, someone will have to loan it to us.There is a proverb that says the borrower is servant to the lender.I shudder to think of being even more in debt to countries like China or Saudi Arabia or any other foreign power for that matter and giving them that much power over the value of our dollars.

Yes we are in a deep recession.Perhaps something had to be done by the government to stimulate the economy.But rushing a nearly $800 billion package that fills up 1100 pages in midnight hour to the lawmakers who have to vote on it the next day doesn’t exactly give anyone time for thoughtful deliberation on its potential effectiveness.

I applaud Mississippi’s Governor Haley Barbour and others who say they want to study each and every proposal to give states money to see what the ramifications will be before accepting it.

Then, in the midst of this economy that we are told is the worse since the Great Depression, we decide to go on a shopping binge with the largest budget proposal in the history of our nation.This will fundamentally change our entire philosophy of economics and governance for generations to come.

I didn’t agree with a lot of the spending the last administration and Congress did either, but to compound it with an aggressive agenda like this could drive this nation into bankruptcy if every little assumption doesn’t go perfectly as planned.

In my mind it’s just too much too fast.

Here’s hoping all our political leaders get a grip before saddling our children and grand children with a gargantuan debt to who knows who.